A Chemistry Grade and Revelations
by mybrotherharry
Summary: Blaine is obsessed with keeping up an inhumane GPA. When he slips a grade in Chemistry and his father visits, Kurt learns why.


**DISCLAIMER: If Kurt and Blaine were mine, I would not be wasting time writing stories about them. Ditto Glee. Ryan Murphy, you are a genius. The world owes you for finding us Chris Colfer. And Chris owes you for letting him kiss Darren Criss.**

Blaine never freaked out about ianything/i. But he did freak out over that one small, little alphabet scribbled on his Chemistry test. An A-.

At Dalton, getting an A on ANY test is a big deal. Like a huge deal. Kurt didn't understand it. Blaine was a model student. That Chemistry test had been particularly hard. Half the class had failed that test. Blaine and Wes were the only ones with A grades. Blaine's GPA was near perfect, this little A- would not affect that. So, Blaine's reaction after the tests were returned back was incomprehensible to Kurt.

Blaine became a pile of misery for days afterward. Kurt knew that he was trying to get Mr. Williams to give him a retest. Mr. Williams had refused, saying that retests were for people who uncharacteristically flunked a test, not for people who topped the class as usual. 'Relax, Blaine. One A- on your report is not damaging,' Mr. Williams had put a hand on Blaine's shoulder and comforted him.

Kurt was even more puzzled by the reaction of Wes and David to Blaine's A-. They had turned grim and morose. Wes patted Blaine on the back, saying, 'no matter what happens, we're here for you, Blaine. When is he coming?'

Kurt didn't get to hear the rest of that conversation as they walked away. But he wanted the full truth. So, he bribed David with his best chocolate chip cookies and got the story. Blaine's father had made a deal with him. He would be allowed to do all his 'gay-stuff' - the singing & dancing - as long as he had perfect As. Kurt's mind reeled in its tracks. He tried to calculate the number of days until the report would reach their homes. Blaine had three more days in the Warblers.

'We could get expelled for this, you know that right?' Wes asked Kurt. Oh, why did he let Kurt talk him into this? They were both standing on upside-down flower-pots that Kurt had arranged along the outer wall of the Principal's office. They were leaning against the wall, trying to pick the lock on the glass window, so that they could hear the conversation inside.

'Shhh!' Kurt admonished him. 'They will be inside any minute!'

'Where did you learn to pick locks anyway?'

' Growing up in a school with bullies, the ability to pick a lock is a survival skill. It made it easier to find classrooms to hide,' muttered Kurt. 'Ha, gotcha!'

He raised the window pane just a little so that sound from the room reached their ears. Principal Monroe was dictating a letter to Ms. Wilson, his secretary. The door buzzed. Ms. Wilson opened the door. The boys heard two pairs of feet shuffling inside.

'Ha! Mr. Anderson, Blaine, please come in, be seated, yes. Blaine, are you alright?'

'Yes, sir' Kurt's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that voice. But it was not right. It did not have the usual spark of life that was characteristic of Blaine.

'Mr. Anderson, what can I do for you today?' Kurt thought the principal's voice was weary with caution. It was the tone of a man who was not particularly looking forward to a conversation, as he had had the same one many many times before.

'I am here to discuss the latest drop in Blaine's academics, Mr. Monroe,' Kurt didn't understand how Bill Anderson's voice, while being so much like his son's could sound so cold. Blaine's voice filled him with warmth, on the inside and outside.

'Drop in grades? You surely must be mistaken! Why, I have the facts right in front of me. I requested the file be presented when I heard you were coming to visit,' the boys heard the sound of shuffling of papers and moving of books. 'iAnderson, Blaine/i - yeah, here it is, above average grades, nine extracurriculars, president of the student government, football captain, lacrosse, football, chess, fencing, lead Warbler and why, just this week, he made the baseball team. You must be very proud, Mr. Anderson.'

'My query pertains to the latest test in organic chemistry that Blaine took. He has fallen short of a perfect score, I believe.'

'He has an A- which is the highest grade Mr. Williams gave for the test. I see no cause for concern. Your son has the highest percentile score in the class.'

'But Blaine and I had a deal, didn't we Blaine?'

boys heard a whimper, a barely voiced out 'yes, sir' and Kurt felt physically sick hearing that whimper.

'I told Blaine that the minute there was any grade on his report that was not an A+, he quits all this singing nonsense. I let him do it only because he was so adamant in the first place. I believe parental consent is necessary for every non-curricular activity a student takes part in, isn't that correct Mr. Monroe?'

'Yes, it is, sir,'

'Then, I take back the consent that I'd given. From this minute on, I do not want Blaine to be a part of that singing choir group. I want him to focus on academics, sports and chess. Stay in student government if you wish to, Blaine but the rest stops. And why are you taking crafts and embroidery? Pottery? Thats for girls, Blaine. I donot understand why you even offer that class in an all-boys school, Mr. Monroe, I have been meaning to talk to you about your course structure...'

Kurt could take it no more. He looked at Wes, who looked as disgusted as he felt.

'Is he always like this?' He whispered. 'Worse, much worse. Have you ever heard Blaine talk about Clark and Jennifer?'

'His younger brother and sister?'

'Yeah, Blaine adores them both, but he hasn't seen them in three years. His father thinks that he will corrupt them somehow, turn them gay too if they come in contact with him. Blaine really misses them. They call him in secret, they keep in touch by mails and things like that. Blaine was hoping to ask his father to let him come home for Christmas this year if he presented a perfect report. Then, old Williams set us that stupid test...'

Kurt hushed him when he heard Principal Monroe begin to speak again. 'Mr. Anderson, Blaine is our prime singing talent. How shall I put this? Being a Warbler is an immense honor is in this school. No student has ever given up being a Warbler before. Besides, I do think we are jumping the gun here. Blaine has the highest GPA in the entire school, Mr. Anderson, surely-'

'Surely, he can do better though? Isn't an A+ better than an A-, Mr. Monroe?'

'Yes, it is, I am not denying that,' began Monroe again.

'Then, we have nothing else to discuss. My office will get in touch with you regarding additional funding for the new library,' Kurt recognised the clear dismissal in his tone, 'Have a good day, Principal.'

The sound of chairs scraping the floor reached Kurt's ears. Mr. Anderson had stood up to leave. 'Come, Blaine, don't waste my time just standing there,'

'Mr. Anderson, please wait a minute, I am going to need you to sign a statement that you no longer wish for Blaine to sing for the Warblers. I will be a minute, sir, if you could just wait here,' Kurt heard the door slam. Monroe must have left the room to go into the small antechamber that was Mr. Wilson's office.

'Da-d?'

Kurt barely heard it the first time. It was Wes springing up in alertness that made Kurt realise that Blaine was talking to his father.

'Yes, Blaine?'

'Can I- Can I please come home for Christmas, sir?'

'I dont think thats a good idea, Blaine,'

'Can I come for just a day? I want to see Jenni and Clark, please sir?'

'I am taking your brother and sister to Canada for a skiing trip this winter, Blaine. Surely you have things to do here at Dalton?'

i'Skiing?'/i

Just one word. But it was said in such a piteous tone that it felt as though someone was cutting Kurt's heart into two with a very sharp knife. How could Bill Anderson treat his own son with so much cruelty? Kurt had seen newspaper articles on how parents had physically abused their own children due to their homosexuality, but what Blaine's father was doing to him - with ignorance, apathy and a show of disappointment was perhaps more damaging than physical abuse.

'Yes, Clark seems very interested in skiing, the way you used to love fishing.'

'I still do,I'm still me, dad'

There was tense silence.

'If I get my perfect scores again, can I go back to the Warblers?'

'We will see,'

'I got made the Captain of the Dalton football team, dad,' Blaine spoke up, 'just like you.'

'So I have heard,'

'And I made the baseball team as well,' Kurt thought of how his father would react if he told him he had been made the captain of the football team. He would gush with pride, attend all his games and tell everyone about his kid, the football star.

'Your shoelaces are undone, Blaine and you need to learn to tie your tie better,'

Wes banged his head on the wall panel repeatedly. 'Blaine never stops trying,' he whispered, 'I don't understand why he does it but he never stops trying. With a father like that, I would have given up ages ago.'

'Clara!' said Blaine suddenly. 'I beg your pardon?' asked his father.

'David's sister, Clara. If I brought her along as a date, can I come to visit Jenni and Clark?'

'You should really focus on studying Blaine,' came the cold reply, 'You don't work hard enough,'

Kurt could hear no more. He really couldn't. He slid down and sat on the flower pot. In a second, Wes copied his motion.

'No wonder Blaine's all kinds of messed up,' said Wes, his head in his hands. 'You're the only good thing in his life, Kurt. If you break his heart, I may really hurt you.'

'The only thing I'm afraid I am going to break is that man's face,' said Kurt through clenched teeth. Then his expression softened. 'Poor Blaine, he told me that things were bad at home but I never guessed this...'

A great many things about Blaine made sense to Kurt now. How independent Blaine was, how affectionate he was for Kurt's touch, how happy he was in the Hudmel household, how he loved spending time with Burt, how obsessed he was with keeping up an inhumane GPA, the number of extra curriculars he piled on himself, all the golf and tennis and baseball hoping to get one proud smile from his father.

Later, much later, Kurt heard Blaine talking on the phone.

'Oh, hey Jenni! Yeah, I'm fine. No, I am sorry I can't come to Canada with you guys. Of course he wanted me to come! Dad was really disappointed when Monroe said I have to stay over this Christmas. I am stuck here doing volunteering duty. No, I need it for extra credits. Yeah, I am sorry I am going to miss it too! You guys have fun, okay? Yeah. I got your birthday card, thanks a lot. Of course Mom wished me! Yeah, she called me. I am not lying, Jen! Is mom there right now? Oh, its okay if she cant come to the phone. Tell her I love her. I love you too, bye!'

Kurt walked upto Blaine, took the phone from his hand, threw it with as much force he could muster at the wall and brushed the tears on his cheek that Blaine was trying to hide.

'Kurt, what-?' 'You, Mister are going to come home with me and we're going to have a long talk, no, don't bother arguing.'

Kurt took his hand and led him home. iTheir home./i


End file.
